For Brittany Blau, owner of Lagom Infusions, life is more brew-tea-ful with a cup of tea.
A tea-lover since childhood who also knew she wanted to open her own business one day, Blau combined her passion for and knowledge about the ancient brew and the business acumen she acquired working in health care consulting for many years to launch her home-based enterprise in Chico a year ago.
Now the tea specialist creates small-batch black, green, oolong, white and puerh traditional tea and tea blends as well as maté and tisane, both of which are herbal blends that do not include tea leaves. Each of Lagom Infusion’s offerings — from Serene Green, which combines sweet peppermint, vegetal sencha and chamomile, to Hippy Hibiscus, a combination of hibiscus, lemon grass and mint — are blended to achieve a “wholistic flavor and feeling” by maximizing flavors and scents. Blau’s unique sense of equipoise is reflected in the business’s name.
“Lagom Infusions derives its name from the Swedish term lagom,” said Blau. “There is no direct translation into English but it roughly means not too much or not too little. To me, lagom is about finding one’s own balance of what feels right at any given time since balance is not a static state.”
This is why each of Blau’s more than 25 teas, tisanes and mates are created to affect, enhance or create different feelings and satisfy physical needs.
“Instead of drinking just one tea or having a single favorite tea, I choose what I feel my body needs at the time,” said Blau. “One morning it might be a soothing white tea and the next a bold black tea. On a relaxing afternoon I may choose jasmine pearl or lemon lavender. Different teas fit different moments and moods.”
Blau said it’s the multifaceted nature of tea that fascinates her. She learns something new about tea every day as she researches and reads about teas and tisanes looking for new ideas and pulling from different sources to inspire her creations because there is “endless knowledge to found with tea. It is so much more than just black or green, so much more than putting a bag in hot water.”
“I’m constantly creating and continuously tweaking the blending process especially when there’s a particular new blend I want to make,” said Blau. “I go through many rounds of testing combinations, proportions, adding and deleting. It takes a lot of trials to find the right balance and get a tea with a nice flavor ready.”
While Blau enjoys the creation process of her business what really excites her is sharing her knowledge with others, introducing them to the many varieties, blends and brewing methods.
To this end, the tea aficionado may be found brewing it up at the Thursday night farmers market where she is a regular vendor. Blau also offers monthly tea tastings hosted by Allie’s Pub downtown. Each of the tea tastings focuses on a different tea and includes tastings of five different blends, brewing methods and blending as well as fresh baked scones with clotted cream and jam. Blau is also available for private, custom tea tasting events.
“My goal is to introduce people to the wide ranging world of tea so they can enjoy it and experiment with their own blending,” said Blau. “It is my hope that Lagom Infusions can show people a glimpse of all that tea offers, inspiring a lifelong journey with tea.”
In addition to teaching people about varieties, blends and brewing, Blau also enjoys sharing the different ways teas may be enjoyed outside of the cup like in soup broth or baked goods. Here’s one of her favorite tea cookie recipes.
Jasmine Tea Infused Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
• 2 and 3/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup and 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 and 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons Jasmine Pearl Green Tea
Instructions: Heat butter in a saucepan over high heat until bubbles start to form. Remove from heat and add Jasmine Pearl Green Tea. Let sit for 15 minutes. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar together. Use a strainer to remove tea leaves from infused butter. Squeeze leaves to extract as much of the butter as possible. Combine 1 cup of infused butter into the dry mixture (discarding any remaining butter). Stir in egg and vanilla extract. Roll cookie dough into small balls (2 tablespoons each). Push down to flatten into disks. Cook at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Enjoy with a warm cup of tea!
To find out more about Lagom Infusion products, upcoming tea tasting events and to order tea visit www.lagominfusions.com
